


Wagers

by SquidSoup



Category: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 11:04:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12034578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquidSoup/pseuds/SquidSoup
Summary: “We don’t have to do this if you’re tired” began the monk, concern outweighing annoyance.“Its fine, my sword is only for stray revenants tonight” Joshua cut him off and turned to face him. “I’m going to teach you about wagers, as promised.”





	Wagers

The routine, every night, was to help set up the tents and everything necessary to spend the night outside while also being able to take it down quickly in case of an emergency. Distend for a while; help out with the cooking if necessary, and after dinner they set off not too close and not too far from camp, to be unbothered.

Tonight, however, Joshua was slower to attend, for someone so quick on his feet, instead pacing around camp until the sun was almost gone behind the mountains. And yet Artur was on their accorded spot, sitting on a flat stone and fiddling with his staff. He looked up to Joshua as he approached and offered a tired smile as he got up, but the other man sat down beside him instead.

“We don’t have to do this if you’re tired” began the monk, concern outweighing annoyance. “Its fine, my sword is only for stray revenants tonight” Joshua cut him off and turned to face him. “I’m going to teach you about wagers, as promised.”

Artur almost reminded him he about his lack of interest in the subject, but stayed silent and hunched himself to see both of their hands under the dim light of the lamp. Until the stars were clearly visible Joshua kept talking, showing and explaining everything he knew from the bottom of his heart and mind. He finally took Artur’s hands and placed the coin on them, then closing them around it.

“Go ahead, try it now.”

He grasped it, felt Joshua’s hands on his more than the cold metal. “Tails, you’ll owe me a favor.” The other man smiled. “And if it’s heads?” The monk replied only with a smile, and flipped it, stumbling to catch it back and showing the result. Joshua whistled, and then cocked his head. “Well, I’m all yours, Brother.”

“I want to know why you were so adamant about cheating all those times… I mean, surely you don’t like losing, nobody does, but if you wanted to train with me that badly you didn’t have to go to those lengths, did you?”

Joshua stayed silent for an instant, before staring at him dumbfounded. “You were the one insisting you were too busy to do it in the first place! I may have started it, but-“

“-but I went with you anyways, didn’t I?”

“Y-yeah, but didn’t you feel obligated to? Promises and all that, wasn’t it?” Unable to say much more than that, Joshua pouted, tapping his feet on the ground.

“It’s true that I’m a busy person” Artur continued. “But what I meant was that besides my religious duties, I want to be available to help with anything needed, nothing set in stone more than that… We began small, but now we are many, and so my help is less essential.” He gestured in direction to the camp. “So I will happily keep helping you, but I don’t want there to be any games between us.”

Silence befell them, and for a while they sat quietly in the discomfort. Artur fiddled with the coin, patient. Joshua shifted his legs, speechless. He’d admit that it wasn’t unexpected, but he hadn’t yet prepared himself quite enough for it yet.

But a bet is a bet, and he wasn’t the one to be flipping the coin for the first time in years, and so he had to finish what he started.

Joshua bit his lips, found the words. “I won’t deny that I needed help with magic, yeah. And you did seem more approachable than Lute at the time. But more importantly, I wanted your attention, you know?”

“…You what?”

“Well, I bet with myself that if luck wanted it, I’d talk to the cute monk that came along with the company I switched allegiances to, and you know the rest.” He didn’t mention that luck hadn’t wanted him to talk to the cute cleric that swayed his fate on the first place, but that was a touchy subject he wouldn’t discuss.

Then Artur was the one left speechless, but not for long. Annoyed at first, and then resigned, he shook his head. “You don’t need a silly coin to get my attention! Why couldn’t you just... Talk to me?” Joshua laughed, trying to hide embarrassment.

“Sorry, bad habit.”

“Is that all you have to say in return?”

Silence again, and Artur sighed.

“Well, what’s done is done, the past can’t change. Just… Try to be more honest if you don’t have a good reason to not to, alright?”

Joshua reflected for a bit, and then looked to him. The lamp was fading, but still illuminated Artur’s features, just enough to see he wasn’t so angry that things were ugly. He thought of that face’s smile, and decided the commitment would be worth it.

“I promise.”

Late it was, and so they made haste to return to camp, but not without according to meet again the following night. Years later, when Joshua casually asked, Artur revealed to not have used the tricks learnt to flip the coin that night, instead leaving it to fate. A fool he was, he admitted, but if fate brought them together then he had nothing else to say, and Joshua couldn’t agree more.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what to say other than they're gay. They're gay and intsys are too cowards to show us their married ending.


End file.
